TOP OF MIND Nick McKissack

For many people employed in human resources, change management has become synonymous with restructuring. Essentially, we view change management as the thing we do when we have changes to the structure and roles within an organisation. There is often displacement of staff involved as well.

We have well-rehearsed practices for dealing with change – union engagement, consultation processes, managed communications – all designed to create positive engagement with the change process and minimise risks to the organisation. 

Personally, I’ve never been involved in a change process – either leading it or being affected by it – that didn’t create some level of anxiety or stress for the employees involved. I’ve learned a few things about managing these change processes over the years, which have significantly influenced how I approach change now. 

Being clear and honest about the purpose of change is critical, easy to say but not always easy to do. Often HR people are asked to communicate about change in scenarios where a fair bit of ‘spin’ is involved in putting messages across to the employees. I was once involved in a reorganisation in which the initial communications were delivered by members of the executive team in a very polished and professional manner. This organisation had a multi-million-dollar financial problem that was presented in some very compelling charts. It was evident in listening to the presentation that the problem was real and had been developing over several years. The purpose of the presentation was, of course, to explain the burning platform driving the need for immediate and significant change. The question in my mind – and possibly others’ – was, if this problem has developed over several years why are you only taking action now? It was hard not to think that employees were about to pay the price for prolonged mismanagement of the organisation. 

The prevailing fixation in Wellington at the moment is the need for cost savings in the public sector at some eye-watering levels. You have to feel for the human resources teams in these organisations as they plan their communications around the inevitable changes their organisations will face. How do you create the right messaging if it’s widely known that the purpose of the coming change is simply cost reduction, tinged with an antipathy towards the public sector?  

Another problem organisations sometimes encounter is that they have decided on the actual change solution before they start communications. In this scenario, a narrative has to be created not only to explain the purpose but also the solution and to do this in a way that doesn’t appear to be a fait accompli. This is where the spin doctoring can easily start. 

The golden rule around communications, of course, is authenticity. A main aim in any change process will be to build trust with employees. Treating people with respect by being authentic and not subjecting them to spin is essential to successfully managing change. Employees will immediately understand when this is not the case; trust is lost, which cannot be easily regained. At all times members of the human resources team will need to defer to the code of practice for HR professionals and ensure they are modelling appropriate ethical standards when they are involved in leading change.